The crack between the All Progressives Congress (APC), National Working Committee and the Presidential candidate’s team that was initially being discussed in hushed tone, is gradually widening into a major gulf that may distabilise the structures of both the ruling party’s National leadership and the presidential campaign organisation of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
This followed the quest by some diehard supporters of Tinubu to get the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu out of office ahead of the commencement of the kick-off of the presidential campaigns. It is believed that this formed one of the reasons for the postponement of the kick-off of the campaign date.
Information pieced together by Forefront News point to the fact that the dicey issue of lack of trust on Senator Adamu to pilot the affairs of the campaign as a sitting National Chairman appeared to have been temporarily allowed to simmer believing that the perceived frosty relationship and mutual suspicious will give way with time but that seems to be getting aggravated as the Tinubu’s camp have purportedly increase the tempo of the plot to oust the National chairman that is seen as not cooperating.
This was in spite of the fact that the Senator Adamu had on a visit to Tinubu in June shortly after the party primary assured the party flag bearer saying; “we are all now your soldiers. We will follow you to all the nooks and crannies of this country and we will not rest on our oars until we have delivered you as president”. But a close source in the candidate’s camp said nothing has positively matched those words.
Interestingly, Tinubu during a joint address with the national chairman at the campaign office in September said; he (Senator Abdullahi Adamu) is going to deliver as the Chairman of the party for me to become the president of Nigeria. And I am very confident of that”.
Another source close to the presidential candidate said on condition of anonymity, that despite the soothing and patronizing words from Asiwaju Tinubu, the practical situation on ground does not portray Adamu as one ready to shelve his hidden agenda which is difficult to define for now but being felt through his actions.
The source further said; “Next year’s election is a battle that is different from all past elections with the emergence of formidable contestants of considerable followership, some fanatical, some tested strategists and we don’t want to take chances.
“We have been on this suspicious path for months now, seeing how we could jointly plan and execute this project but, it is obvious that it is not working out because of one man’s hard position.
“So we have decided to go for the broke. He has to go. His removal will not disrupt the preparations for the elections,” he said.
However, one of the Senators close to the APC National chairman, who does not want his name in print, told Forefront News that that Senator Adamu being an experience politician is aware of every of the moves being made by the supporters of Tinubu and he is quite ready to face them headlong.
According to the senator; “I can assure you that whatever their moves are, he is in the know and we are waiting for them”.
From every indication, the present distrust and ding-dong game started on the eve of the primary election which held at the Eagle Square, Abuja when Senator Adamu let out of the cat and announced his bosom friend and colleague, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan as the preferred candidate, sparking protests from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and quick intervention by Northern governors.
The latest sign that all is not well is the release of the list of members of the Campaign Council by the Council itself thus, sparking resentment from the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.
It was also gathered that some governors and key stakeholders who are genuinely concern over the sour relationship between the candidate’s camp and the NWC are worried that the development if not quickly managed could have negative impact on preparations and the result of the election.
It was gathered that now that President Muhammadu Buhari is back to the country from the United Nations General Assembly, the pro-Tinubu group who have mobilized would be meeting him as the leader of the Party within the next few days.
